San Jose State football: Spring practice report

The following is a brief report that I filed for the Merc based on SJSU’s first practice and some bonus news/notes …

What San Jose State’s first spring practice may have lacked in quality, it made up for in quantity.

The Spartans took the field with 101 healthy players, believed to be the most in school history for a spring workout.

“We had to get the cobwebs out, get all the signals and the calls straightened out,’’ second-year Coach Mike MacIntyre said.

“But we have more size, more speed and lot more guys. That means they won’t wear down and it means there’s more competition.’’

The expanded roster reflects SJSU’s ramp-up in available scholarships after years of restrictions placed on the program by the NCAA due to academic shortcomings.

The Spartans are not at the maximum of 85 scholarships this month. But they will be – for the first time ever — when the freshman class arrives in August.

The roster includes seven mid-year enrollees: two high school players who graduated early and five junior college transfers.

The transfers, especially end David Tuitupou and offensive tackle Jon Meyer, “were brought in for the opportunity to compete for a starting role,” MacIntyre said.

Nowhere was the increase in the size and number of players more noticeable than on the defensive line, where SJSU has 20 healthy bodies – twice as many as last season.

“Last spring, we spent half the time wondering whether we could practice or not,’’ defensive coordinator Kent Baer said.

“With more players, you can get through more reps at a faster tempo and create a better atmosphere. It’s a lot different.’’

/// Bonus material …

*** MacIntyre: “Everybody’s in good shape academically.”

*** The quarterback reps will be divided between are senior Matt Faulkner, sophomore Dasmen Stewart and redshirt freshman Blake Jurich from Scotts Valley High School.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Jurich is coming off shoulder surgery and will be limited in his throwing. But when healthy, “He can make all the throws,” MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre will establish a pecking order at the end of the month but doesn’t plan to make a decision on the starter until training camp, in part because he wants to see incoming frosh Joe Gray.

Nor did he rule out using two quarterbacks during the season, although that’s not his preference.

*** Safety Duke Ihenacho, linebacker Pompey Festejo, safety Manu Ngatikaura, end Mo Marah and center Robbie Reed — all injured last season — either have been, or will be granted medical redshirts.

All five will participate this spring, with Ihenacho, Reed and marah practicing on a limited basis.

*** Position changes: Backup linebacker Jason Simpson has moved to tailback on a full-time basis.

Starting LB Vince Buhagiar and backup Derek Muaava will spend time as running backs in short yardage situations, an area the Spartans are desperate to improve. (Note: Spot-duty only.)

*** WR Jabari Carr, a Pac-12-level talent from Oak Grove High — he spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy and then sat out the 2010 season — is expected to join the Spartans in August.

*** The tailback unit, for those in need of a refresher, features Brandon Rutley (461 yards last season), David Freeman (163), Ben Thompson and Simpson.

“We have to improve our running game,” MacIntyre said. “The line should be better. We’ve signed some big tight ends, which helps the running game, and the backs have experience. They should be better at hitting the holes.”

*** Staff changes: In recent weeks the Spartans have lost receivers coach Brent Brennan (to Oregon State) and offensive coordinator Tim Landis (to be the head coach at Rensselaer).

MacIntyre is hiring Klayton Adams from Sacramento State to coach the tight ends and has one vacancy to fill.

The offensive coordinator/playcaller/quarterbacks coach will be John DeFilippo, who coached the QBs last season.

(He also called the plays in the final weeks of the season, when the offense showed some life.)

*** The Spartans also hired Dave Forman as their new strength coach for football. He spent several years as an assistant strength coach at Stanford, and we all know how physical the Cardinal was.

This, in my mind, is a big deal. SJSU’s strength program has been lacking for years. “He’s changed the culture and the intensity level,” MacIntyre said.

Coach Mac is looking for a power runner on short yardage and goal line situations (just for a few runs a game). RS Frosh Ben Thompson may end up being that guy (and a lot more), but down in short yardage, you need to push that pile, and we haven’t really had a RB who could do that since FB/TB JT Callier, who finished in 2007.

Coach Mac also likes to have guys practicing on both sides of the football. He says that it keeps the players’ interest level up. Several players practiced both ways in Spring practice last season and a few in the fall. Only a couple, to my knowledge, actually played both ways. The guys you’ll most likely see go both ways are LB/HB/TE types, guys who might not play much on one side of the ball, depending on the game situations, but play a bit on the other side of the ball to provide depth at that position.

tdmaximus

@jack

very funny. I liked that one. However, I do not believe my prediction is off base. Because of the 85 scholarship limit schools have a bigger pool to rebuild from. Schools like UCLA and USC can’t stockpile players. There have been a few instance in the past 5 years of teams going from losers to 8 plus wins the following year. These are the reasons SJS can win 10;

1. 85 scholarship players for first time in school history
2. Many upperclassmen starters coming back this year
3. Many underclassmen played a lot last year. Four were Freshmen All-Americans.
4. Coach Mac is a great recruiter.
5. Second year of his system.
6. Less difficult schedule this year. Minus Boise, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Utah.
7. Improved Offensive and Defensive lines.
8. Brought in Foreman from Stanford as a dedicated football strength coach.

Matt “Mt. Hamilton

Hallelujah. We got a new strength coach, and someone who helped armor those physical monsters at Stanford. Let the hitting begin.
JW mentioned running back Ben Thompson, a 6-2, 233-pound running back who averaged over seven yards a carry during his senior year down here in Southern California at Temecula Valley. He redshirted last year and he can move the pile. Team him with the talented Brandon Rutley, who hasn’t seen a hole to run through in a couple years, and we’ve got a potent backfield.
Don’t be surprised if we start two freshman on the defensive line, because they are that good: Tony Popovich, a 6-3, 280-pound weightroom freak from down the road at Marin Catholic and David Catalano a 6-3, 265-pound high school wrestler who will be on the beneficiaries of our new weight room regime.
They are just two of the group of new recruits that Coach Mac and staff brought in. It’s a class that we oldtimers believe might be the best recruiting class since Darryl Rogers brought in all those JC guys and we finished 16th in the nation in the mid-70s.
QB Joseph Grey, who decommitted from Washington to join us, is obviously a huge “get” as is safety Mercy Maston (can you see him and Duke leveling anyone silly enough to run across the middle?).
Guys like Nathan Falo, Doug Blacksill and John Meyer will beef up what has been a slow and inept offensive line.
Check out safety Simon Connette from Santiago High School on youtube and what he brings in terms of closing on the ball and stoning the receiver/ballcarrier.
Here’s a real interesting prospect:
Christian Hill, DE, Sanger HS, 6’4″ and 215 pounds. Also plays wide receiver. Still Growing. Lots of potential. Not an all-state player. Probably not too many stars next to his name, if any. A second team all-league player. He’s a 6-4 sprinter on the track team. That’s right; he’s a 6-4 sprinter. Put 10 pounds on him in the weight room and in a year, we’ve got a 6-4, 225-pound sprinter for a defensive end. Not too many offensive tackles or tight ends were sprinters in high school. This is called a mismatch.
And another interesting prospect who could end up playing defense as well, even though he was a running back who ran for over a thousand yards at a 7.5 clip last season at Perry High School: CEDRIC SIMMONS, RB, 6-1, 212, Gilbert, Ariz./Perry HS. Linebacker? Defensive end when he packs on a few pounds? This is what TCU does so successfully; gets running backs with size and speed, bulks them up in the weight room, and converts them into defensive ends and linebackers. Have you noticed TCU lately? Yeah, that TCU that beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
We loaded up on some great recruits last year (including four freshman All Americans) and this year’s crop is even better.
Bide your time, Spartan fans. Good things are just around the corner.
Go Spartans!

Ken Cornwell

For you newbies to this blog you will soon see the flavor of how this stalwart group supports Spartan football. Cheese, TrueSpartan, “The Mt.”, all solid! TDMaximus, welcome, like your style! What Matt listed above, is the foundational cornerstone to what is going to become a “Program”, not just 7,8 or 10 wins a season. Year 2 of the Mac Era is going to reflect that. 101 players? I thought it was a typo. The best players play and the next group in line need to be as good. We know injuries will come. The TCU model should be viewed as a benchmark standard for building a program. Coach Mac stressed strength as a vital need, evaluated through his first season and then may have come up with his best recruit of the 2011 class with our new strength coach. Many puzzle pieces moving around the board last year, but now the picture is beginning to take shape, and what a picture I believe it is going to be. Go Spartans!

Keysclubber

Some real delusional blogs by Spartan loyalists! 7+ wins is a joke! Maybe 3, or 4! Be happy with the small improvement. Maybe in 3, or 4 years the Spartans could have + .500 winning season. I root for SJSU but I’m realistic about their program.

TrueSpartan

@ Keysclubber,
Time will tell.

GO SJSU Spartans!

cadan

The only thing I am not sure of is putting DeFillipo in charge of the playcalling…does he have any experience in this? And I did not see such a drastic improvement in QB play last year that his job as QB coach should automatically dictate this move. I would be much more comfortable with Terry Malley having a bigger influence on the offense.

Iconoclast

As JW’s post mentioned, JDF was responsible for the playcalling the last few weeks of the ’10 season when offense showed some life. This is a good move by Coach Mac. RE: Wins – 10? 8? 7? Wow! I guess that’s why the word “fan” is short for ‘fanatic’. Look, if the Spartans can p/u 5 or 6 wins in 2011 – be very, very happy. SJS will need a lot of luck to get beyond 5 or 6 wins. Not saying it can’t be done, but figuring that it’s highly unlikely. Look at the sked and tell me where 8 wins will come from? Stanford, UCLA? Fresno State? Nevada? BYU, Hawaii, Navy? OOC – maybe CSU could be a win – but it’s a road game in Ft. Collins. Can we beat NMSU?, LaTech, Idaho? Probably. Utah State? Maybe. This is a very tough schedule. Where do the 7,8,9, 10 wins come from?

TrueSpartan

@ Iconoclast,
You made some good points in regards to the schedule. Nevertheless, I am sticking with my prediction 7-5 and maybe, just a maybe 8-4.

Quick question – Have you ever played sports at a competitive level? HS varsity level, junior college, university or U.S. military? If so, did you go in there expecting to be defeated?

GO SJSU Spartans!

Keysclubber

TS,
If talking and dreaming won football games you would probably go undefeated next season! Most former football players always go into a game &/or a season planning to win all their games. But when something is missing reality settles in and the team record reflects the over-all program deficiencies. Your question to Iconoclast is unfair, thoughtless, and just plain stupid! Anyway, enjoy your anticipation for great Spartan season this year.

new spartan fan

I am committed to winning and if winning starts in the mind, then there it should begin. It seems to me that Jack,who claims to be a spartan fan or is he? Has no school pride and when the W’s stack up and the band wagon begins I will not be the one to say I told you so. Understand that boise,fresno,nevada,utah, all were door mats of the league and in came a coach with the understanding that size and speed is the remedy for all your woes. This team need to hear and see positive messages, they see and hear the blogs. Put aside your arm chair coaching and be a champion for the team or just be in the stands of every home game and perform the chicken dance for a box of pizza!

Todd

A thought: For years SJSU hired athletic directors who came from colleges that didn’t have football. This poor hiring practice helped lead the Spartan football program to a big slide downhill. Now they hire a new school President who comes from Cal State East Bay (really Cal-State Hayward) which has no football program. I realize FB is not the #1 qualification to be hired as a school president but prersidential support & respect for the FB program will be necessary for the program to continue & survive during exceedingly tough financial times & drastic higher education cuts.
Bowen seems to be a good AD but he will need the president’s unyielding support as the economy continues to struggle and huge financial problems exist at State University Schools. When push comes to shove SJSU’s President needs to be the inter-collegiate football program’s corner. He may have to demonstrate a great deal of strength against teachers/professors who believe FB is a finacial disaster for SJSU.

Todd

Slight correction to my above post. When push comes to shove SJSU’s President needs to be IN the inter-collegiate football program’s corner. (forgot the in).

Keysclubber

I will say one thing: If Spartan football continues to be sub .500 and attendance numbers continue to very low (8-9 thou) for most games then the new Pres. may have a lot of faculty & board pressure. Hopefully he supports football and is a strong individual (like Kassing)!